Merry Christmas!

A short and sweet Christmas newsletter from the Garcias:

he 4 Big Things that happened in 2015

1. We started the adoption process - and were overwhelmed by the tremendous support of our family! We received over $30,000 in donations from family and friends!

2. Victor finished his first year with the tactical unit that he really wanted to join in the State Police.

3. Moriah started her business Social Media Mooand starting to get it moving along.

4. We baptized our awesome niece Zara.

3 Things we hope for in 2016

1. We should be on the waiting list for adoption starting in February. The median wait time for placement of a baby is 18 months - but it cannot be overstated how much we would prefer it to be sooner!

2. Baby.

3. Baby.

Home Study: The Interviews

Over the course of the past few weeks, Victor and I have been interviewed together and individually by our social worker Wendy. The first session was with us together and the second and third were individual interviews.

You may recall that I was acting a little insane, thinking about how she might interpret the autobiographies we had to write, and thinking that she might over-analyze mine. One of the key takeaways from the actual interviews (as opposed to the scenarios that played through my head beforehand) was this:

Not a State Trooper

Wendy is just so sweet and understanding and had some really interesting insights about Victor and I.

One of the things I learned is that my husband loves me. And that I am a dingbat. Well, maybe I already knew those things: When we were asked what first made us fall in love with one another I thwarted female stereotypes by not being able to explain myself (perhaps because it is just so obvious, who wouldn't love the guy?) meanwhile, Victor talked about how when he first met me he found someone genuinely unassuming and innocent and for the first time he was able to open up and talk about tough stuff like his time in Iraq.

So serious. "Look like the face on the book!"
2008

Those who know him now might be surprised to know that Victor used to hardly share anything about anything with anybody. What can I say? I broke him. And now when we are in a social setting and he starts oversharing I have no one to blame but myself. I love you, husband.

And of course, when we first met and we were getting to know one another in the library at the University of Chicago, we also connected on a spiritual level. Both of us had Jesus Christ as our Savior, though we came to Him in very different yet similar ways and we found that this grounding was the seat of our deepest connection.

That, and finding an inside joke about fluffy cops and laser-eyed chinchillas hilllllllarious.

    

I think you just...had to be there to fully understand. We don't even really understand it anymore.

It is funny reflecting on those days when we first became best friends. Victor and I were really and truly great friends for while before we ever considered one another romantically, and when that idea surfaced it rose simultaneously with the knowledge that we would be getting married. We more or less went straight from being just friends to being engaged - Which is part of why it was tough to explain what made me fall for him in the first place - because I was the very last person to find out we were meant to be. When did I fall for him? The only times I can recall specifically are literal examples that prove nothing other than that I am a klutz.

Just Friends to Just Married...
and just knocked over their wedding cake.
2010

The main point of these interviews was for Wendy to better understand how our relationship works: how we support one another, how we communicate, and how we disagree. 

In our separate interviews, she asked us what values are most important to us that we want to impart on our child. Despite not having purposely discussed it beforehand, apparently we listed the exact same three items: our spirituality, respect for all people, and the importance of serving our community and neighbors.

So, not that we should have been worried but, as far as the interviews went: I think we passed.

Thank you for joining us on this journey!

Guest Post from Granny Shanny

So, in one of my latest posts I mentioned that we were about to have our couple meeting with our social worker. Remember I was all anxious about how she would interpret the things I wrote about myself? I blogged some of the worst parts from my autobiography and then I blogged parts from Victors autobiography. I was rather hyped up about this meeting with our social worker and made you really wonder what was about to happen at this meeting.

Well, the meeting happened...nearly 3 weeks ago. And the meeting was really interesting. However, work was kind of crazy in October and excuses excuses I didn't get a chance to write the blog post I had promised.

October wasn't all camel kissing, to be sure.
I was planning a Halloween family event at my museum that had
over 550 people in attendance. So excuses excuses I didn't
have much of a life outside of work...there was hardly even
any time to kiss camels!

Yesterday morning I finally found the time to sit down and write the blog post about that social worker meeting. Then my mother, who is visiting us this weekend, came out of her room and I realized a way I could get the job done much faster.

Well, I did.

I asked her if she would like to write a blog post.

And she agreed!

Then I realized that having a post from grandma-to-be would actually be really really cool and even better than writing my own blog post. She was recently sent a DCFS form asking for her opinion about mine and Victor's potential parenting skills. A post like that could give people a lot of insight into the adoption process and also how excited my mother is about us adopting.

Was that again, too much of the honesty? Saying that my first thought was a short cut and then the second was about how wonderful it would be to have my mother post?

Sorry.

Without further ado, here is my mother's post:

"Last week I completed the questionnaire from The Cradle requesting my feedback about what kind of parents I believe Moriah and Victor will be and what I perceive their relationship with each other to be. I must say, giving thought to these questions simply confirms that Moriah and Victor, and this child will be the luckiest triangle to form; everybody wins! (If we get twins, it would be a square, but considering the parents-to-be….well….a square would make perfect sense because in the coolest of ways, Moriah and Victor are rather square.)

Another of the questions inquired as to how many times each year I “see” Moriah and Victor. This was a tough question since we live in different states.   “Not often enough” didn’t seem like a desirable answer, but of course, I had to tell the truth.  However, I followed that answer with “however, with a grandchild in place, I WILL be making many more trips to Chicago.”  TRUTH!

As I visit with the parents-to-be in Chicago this weekend, following a fantastic work event an hour north of their home, I find myself developing the idea of having that “second pad” in the Chicago area. My new job will be bringing me to the state of Illinois – eventually, at least twice a month. I am thinking an apartment (for starters) would be economical compared to hotel stays for weeks at a time. 

Moriah jokes that they could convert the basement to an apartment for me….I’d have to channel Great Granny Annie to plumb in a bathroom downstairs…..but there are attractive benefits that would come with such a setup…(think Granny Shanny spoiling baby). However, I must shake myself back to reality and return to the journey and simply wait to see when the next forks in the road present themselves and how the journey will continue.

Regardless, I am grateful to God to be a part of this journey with Moriah and Victor. I am VERY excited about being Granny Shanny."

Many thanks to my mother for taking some time out of her busy visitation-of-me schedule to give some insight into the grandmother's perspective of the adoption process! I love you mom!

So the post about that social worker meeting is still forthcoming. Really.

Autobiographacrazy Part 2

Victor and I had to have a serious talk about his 7 page (SEVEN PAGE) autobiography. Seriously - We just need to answer the questions the social worker asked of us! But of course, the talk didn't make his autobiography any shorter.

He has a lot to say.

In the previous blog post I told you that his first line is 

"Before I begin the story of my life, I must begin with a brief history of my parents.  I would not be the person I am today without their sacrifices and strength to do what is right."

Because what else would we expect from Victor?

He proceeds to tell the story of how his parents came from two very different backgrounds from different parts of Mexico. Through many trials, they emigrated to the United States. The two met in Chicago at a wedding, were married, and lived for several years in a small apartment with several other families, adding to their family a first and then a second daughter. Victor was born after they had bought a 2 flat house in Cicero which offered considerably more room for his little pinball ways.

Two sisters and little ticklish Victor

“My parents ensured we continued on a “good path” and avoided the public schools.... My parents wanted to keep us from attending the local public high schools which had already become known for having gang issues…  My sister was the first to attend college, graduate school, and eventually earn a PhD."

Victor was very involved and successful in elementary and high school, but during his 1st year of college at University of Chicago he found himself having an inexplicable academic turn for the worse. It was not because of the rigor of his program, but rather he found himself avoiding his school work, church (in which he had always been very involved), and his family. After some attempts to figure things out, including taking a break from school, Victor made a decision that his family found very unexpected.

"December of 2001 I walked into a United Marine Corps Recruiters office and told them I want to join without question.  I remember I had tested high enough where I could have had any job in the United States Marine Corps.  I chose the Infantry.  My recruiter actually tried to convince me to try other things.

I remember him saying, 'Why do the smart ones join the infantry and the dumb ones try to be rocket scientists?'  I was able to get a ship out date for January of 2002."

While it was very tough news for everyone who cared about Victor, it seemed to revitalize him.

"This was a significant moment for me, the day they shaved my head, I felt like I was getting fresh and new start of course in an extreme manner.  After Boot Camp I was sent to Twenty-Nine Palms, California to report to my first unit.  At the same time, my sister started her PhD program at the University of California San Diego.  I would eventually spend every weekend visiting her from my base in the desert."

Victor attempted to reassure his family that he would be fine, nothing bad would happen while he was in the Marines. Then, 

"In January of 2003 I found out my unit would be deployed to Kuwait in preparation for a possible invasion of Iraq, the first of my three deployments. By February we were shipped off to Kuwait.  My unit was a part of the spearhead that lead the “boots on the ground” all the way to Baghdad."

Victor is not in this picture, but he is a hundred yards behind the cameraman.

He returned home boasting only a paper cut and no real mental scars. However, his time back in the US was relatively short.

Don't worry, that mustache isn't allowed in our home.

"My second deployment to Iraq was my hardest and it began in February 2004 and ended in July of the same year. I experience[d] the first true extreme sense of loss.  I have never felt anything like it since.  April 11, 2004 my squad leader, Corporal Daniel R. Amaya, 22, of Odessa, Texas was killed in action leading my squad.  It was not only hard dealing with the loss, but also dealing with the fact that I had to take over as a squad leader.  Every April 11, I remember him by sharing his story of his heroism.  The way I dealt with it was carrying on with my life as best as I could because Corporal Amaya gave his for us all."

Left to right: Cpls Garcia, Zmudzinski, Amaya, and Osborn

"After my third deployment to Iraq, which for the most part was mild compared to the first two, I decided to leave the USMC."

So there you have some snippets of the story Victor told in his autobiography. While this part of his story is certainly an intense one, I would like to show that he is one of the most ridiculously silly people I know - always pulling little pranks on people (particularly me). 

Tomorrow we have our meeting with the social worker to talk about these autobiographies, cultural awareness, and adoption and I will let you all know how that goes!

Autobiographacrazy? Part 1

Where have we been?

We did not give up on the blog.

We were mountain climbing.

Poor Charlie, always losing organs.

No not candy mountain.

Paperwork…mountain.

After the fundraising was done, we could finally turn our focus toward what was required for us before our first meeting with our Cradle social worker, which is scheduled for this Thursday.

YAYYYYY FORWARD MOTION!!!!

The following was part of the packet of information we had to produce:
- Completed Cradle application
- Balance sheet of our annual home budget
- Family tree(s) with details about those family members
- Completed longish/shortish answer questionnaire about “cultural awareness"
- Sign away some rights of privacy and consent to criminal background checks
- An autobiography for each of us

So, most of those things were not too tough - we already had a budget which we just transposed to The Cradle’s form. We had to be able to demonstrate that we could not only afford the adoption process, but, also a baby after that. Which, because of your help, we are able to say we can!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

But the real major task was the autobiographies. We were supplied with a page of questions and we were instructed to make sure we addressed each question thoroughly in our autobiographies. Victor ended up with 7 pages. I ended up with 5. Take that as you will.

The questions were rather errr...probing (See: What's a Homestudy?"). For instance, we were asked to "Describe your relationship with your mother using at least 3 adjectives,” “Tell us about a time you struggled,” and “Describe how you were punished growing up.”

The purpose of this autobiography is for our Cradle social worker to get to know Victor and I better.

So - just follow me for a moment - my husband is a State Trooper and I have learned second-hand that when law enforcement pulls over a driver they suspect as a DUI, and the driver tells the officer “I only had X number drinks,” the officer mentally multiplies X number of drinks by 2-3 times to arrive at the truth.

And so, back to this whole autobiography thing - the whole time I was writing it I was thinking about how, of course, I should be very honest in this autobiography. We all have our many, many flaws. But also, people tend to talk about themselves better than they are in reality so... if I am really, truly honest - will our social worker multiply the bad by 2... or 3? 

For instance, when I wrote:

"My mom and I have a fantastic relationship now, but growing up we had a big issue: we were too much alike. We were/are both a bit bossy and  short tempered which meant that we often had tiffs... My mom still has the exchange of letters that witness one particular flair up that inspired her to write up a numbered list of services with which she regularly helped me (driving me to sports practices, feeding me, etc), and for which she would henceforth from the date of that letter be charging me money for because of my lack of appreciation. I responded in writing with a point by point counterargument to her letter. Neither of us remember what came of it all in the end, but we now read through those letters with great hilarity."

Will our social worker think, “She was just a typical teenager.” or will she think, “She needs anger management…” and

Or when I wrote:

"In my younger years I really did not like school. In 1st grade I would go to the nurse's office every day because I “felt sick.” After being told that I could not visit the nurse's office every day, I started going there only every other day. Although the frequency of my visits to the nurse lessened over time, my dislike of school did not. My grades tended to play more to the latter part of the alphabet and I was suspended twice - once in 5th grade and the other time in 7th grade."

Oh shoot… too honest? Did I just voluntarily incriminate myself? Does my honesty make the social worker think that I am being honest, or is she thinking, "If this is what she admits to, can you imagine what the truth is!?! 2-3x worse at least!"

Wait! Wait!

"From my sophomore year of high school onward I had a near perfect GPA and had begun enjoying school and by the time I graduated I had a 3.8 GPA, was part of the National Honor Society, was captain of the gymnastics team, and had received several awards for vocal and track & field achievements … I went on to get my Bachelor's degree at the Ivy League tier University of Chicago where I graduated with honors as well as vocal, track & field, and leadership awards. I currently hold the record in women's pole vault at the University and am in the top 10 for the 400m hurdles."

Perhaps I just redeemed myself. ... Or will she think I am overcompensating for the paragraphs above?

Well, at least when she reads my sweet, amazing, husband’s autobiography that begins with,:

"Before I begin the story of my life, I must begin with a brief history of my parents.  I would not be the person I am today without their sacrifices and strength to do what is right."

she will know that my husband is possibly crazy for being with me.

Excerpts from Victor's autobiography to come...

Exceeding Goals (Again) and then failing to report it for weeks

So we had our big Next Chapter: Operation Adoption bash at our house on July 25th...

We had over 100 people at our house over the course of 8 hours...

And we have just recovered enough to break out this blog post.

Many thanks to our church friends, a coworker, and my dad for letting us borrow their tents and helping us set them up!!!

Our goal was to fill this fundraiser thermomememememeter (the one BEHIND the bar, don't get distracted by the booze...). You can see we were already close, but not yet quite to our fundraising goal of $15,000 by he end of July 25th.

Many thanks to our tia and to our prima for their bartending services!!!

But before I tell you the final results of the July 25th fundraiser, we have a few more people to thank - family and friends made this event not only possible but a real hit.

Thanks to my sister and my cousins: the sign makers.

Thanks to our niece Z for teaching her daddy (our brother-in-law) how to DJ for our party.

To my mom, for catching this photo of Victor and I - despite being the focus of the fundraiser we somehow managed to go the entire night with getting only this one picture of ourselves taken. (Thanks also goes to mom for helping with all the party making/doing/everythinging.)

And to our primo for making amazing tacos all night long!!

And to my aunt, and my grandma, and my other cousins, and my stepmom, and my stepdad, and my parents-in-law, and my sister and brother-in-laws and our many church friends and our church for all of the set-up, food prep, chair/table borrowing, house cleaning and fixing, and all the many many many things they did to help us make this day just straight up perfect.

And to all a good night.

Oh WAIT WAIT! I was supposed to tell you how the actual fundraising went!!

So remember how I mentioned that our goal was to raise $15,000 by the end of July 25th?

Thermomomoter. Exploded.

In case you can't read the small print and arrows at the top of the thermometer: IT EXPLODED!!!

explooooooooooooooosion!

We raised just under $19,000 by the end of July 25th.

!!!!! $19,000 !!!!!

Which is very exciting particularly when the up front costs of adoption are $30,000. So it will definitely go to use!

And we could still use additional support - because we heard a rumor that after we pay for the adoption, we will also have to pay for a baby.

We continue to leave our fundraising website open for anyone who would still like to help us make our family a reality!

Side note: I have recently been told by my copy editor at the museum I work at that I use too many exclamation points. Well, this is my personal blog! So here are some more exclamation points! WOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Another 5 Things from Adoption 101

A few days ago I posted the first 5 takeaways/moments/things from the Adoption 101 class we took at The Cradle. I had intended to post all 10 at that time... but then I couldn't prevent a rant and the post got too long. So I split it into two posts.

One more thing before we start: WE ARE ONE WEEK AWAY! (From the Next Chapter Bash.) We are still in the midst of fundraising and have another $5,000 to go by the end of July 25th. Let's do this!

Ok, now here we go:

6. While the benefits of an open adoption are overwhelmingly greater than its risks, sometimes the biological parent of your adopted child might make life decisions with which you do not agree (ie. drugs, relationships, etc). Yet still, it is of the utmost importance to keep that biological mother in high regard for your child's sake, and for your sake. The Cradle staff were not implying that they want us to be dishonest with our children, but rather that we must not give our child the impression that they came from a place that was wrong, evil, or negative. Because it just isn't true. Rather, that child was born from someone who loved them enough to make the ultimate sacrifice of giving her to someone else to raise, because they thought that would be better for their daughter and for themselves. I truly believe that if anywhere in this scenario you might label someone a "hero," this is where it would be - despite any and all scenarios in which a mother came to this decision and for which I have another pent up rant that will have to be an entire blog post of its own.

7. An adoptee who was raised knowing very little about her birth parents said it was really tough to not know much about her biological mother: "You feel like there is this ghost around you all the time when you don't know about your birth parent...And as a child I didn't know how to ask the questions about my birth mother." A feeling of completion - of knowing her own story - came after the full information about her biological mother was finally given to her when she was an adult. She pointed out that growing up she "didn't have the words" - didn't know how to express the questions she harbored - that would reveal what she wanted to know about her origins. She, and The Cradle staff, recommended that particularly in cases where the birth parent isn't part of an ongoing open relationship with the adoptive family, we should share everything we know at whatever level our adopted child is at because the child's lack of asking does not mean that the child doesn't care or doesn't want to know. Of course she wants to know.

8. "Children should never remember the day they found out they were adopted. It should always be part of their story, their identity." There are a whole host of children's books that help little ones understand their identity as an adopted child. From the moment they are brought home, even while you are cradling a child that is just a few days old, and you are talking to him: you should be telling his story to him. You should be telling him about where he came from and how much he is loved.

9. Transracial adoption needs to be navigated intentionally, but an adoption where the child looks like they could be your biological child comes with its challenges too. One big challenge is that it is easier to avoid the conversation about adoption both within the family and with the adoptive child's friends because, well - he doesn't have too. It isn't a topic that comes up naturally because it is not part of his visible identity. But not talking about it openly makes it seem more like a "secret." And we don't want adoption to be a secret. Secrets are usually held because there is shame or negativity associated with the information. Don't let that be the case! There is nothing negative here!

10. An adoptee shared a story from her childhood that stuck with her through adulthood and still bothers her a bit. She is Hispanic and her adoptive parents are Caucasian. One day, while in line at the grocery store with just her mom, another customer stated that the daughter looks nothing like her mother. Her mother replied, "She looks more like her dad." While it was surely a decision mom had made because there wasn't time to go into detail and she was just trying to get through the grocery line, her adopted daughter thought, "Why couldn't she have just said, 'She's adopted.' proudly?" I am not completely sure what my takeaway is from that and am still trying to wrestle with it. Thoughts?

5 of 10 Interesting Things from Adoption 101

You'll have to read to the bottom to read the most exciting news. Well, I guess you could just scroll down without reading, but, won't you feel guilty? I mean... I spent all this time writing this post and well... Ok. Here we go...

5 of 10 Interesting Things from Adoption 101

There were tears shed during Saturday's Adoption 101 class at The Cradle, but there was also a lot of laughter. During the 8 hour session that was the first of many classes that potential adoptive families must take, we were encouraged to express our hopes and our fears about the adoption process. The information shared by Cradle staff throughout the session abated many of those expressed fears, but it also gave us new ones - forcing us to focus on aspects of the adoptive life that are of real consequence.

For probably all of us couples, it was the first time we had met any other couples that were currently going through the adoption process. And I have no way to describe meeting them other than: it was amazing. As a group, we also got to meet people who have already been part of the adoption process: an adult adoptee, a biological mother, and three transracial adoptive families.

Here are just the first half of the 10 key moments/takeaways/statistics/things from the day, in no particular order. For brevity, I will share the other 4 later this week:

1. In the past 95 years of The Cradle's existence - having placed nearly 16,000 adoptions - not one has been overturned. The main takeaway from this was that adoptive families, biological families, and perhaps just no one ever should ever watch the Lifetime Channel...ever. The story of the person coming out of nowhere and saying they are your real mother... it just... it really doesn't happen when an adoption is done right. So just... stop it. Stop it. No more Lifetime Channel.

2. 65% of parents giving children for adoption at The Cradle are already parenting other children. I thought this was such an interesting statistic! Mind blown! I cannot comment further on this one without going on a rant. So I won't.

3. The average age of biological mothers giving children for adoption is 24. While there is the occasional teen mom that gives a child for adoption through the agency, teens aren't nearly the portion of the statistic that many people would assume. I have another rant that I could go on here, but I am holding myself back.

4. About 50% of biological dads are involved in the process of giving the child up for adoption through The Cradle. "Involvement" could include simply signing off his rights, but it also sometimes means helping to select adoptive parents for the child. I am holding myself back from this rant. Don't rant Moriah. Don't rant. This is a list. No room for rants.

5. "I don't want to be called  'hero.' I want to be called 'dad,'" said one potential adoptive parent in our discussion - A statement which was followed by a round of potential adoptive parent nods of intense agreement.

Oh my goodnesssssssss... here comes a rant.

Most of the couples attending Adoption 101 were just beginning to tell family and friends that they are going to adopt a child. For most of those couples, they had been trying to build their families biologically for years, having gone through fertility treatment after fertility treatment and the intense highs and lows of that whole scenario, before making the decision to complete their family through adoption. By the time they make the announcement to family and friends that they are going to adopt, they have been battered with the host of emotions that comes from years of trying to conceive a "normal" family.

Because, as a society, we are only just beginning to discuss adoption openly and it is only just becoming less taboo, a lot of people don't know how to respond when they hear that a close friend or family member is going to adopt. Nearly every person has met someone that has been part of the adoption process (such as an adoptee, adopter, biological parent) yet ironically the first image that comes to their mind is of some celebrity adopting a starving child from a 3rd World Nation.

*Caveat: We all know that the response that I am about to highlight comes from a place of love, but I am just letting you know here that this is what a small sampling implies that a large contingent of adoptive families feel.*

Here is what people sometimes say in response to "We are going to adopt.":

"I think you are a hero."

*Once again, I put the caveat out there that this is definitely not the scenario for all people who are adopting, and that we know that this "hero" statement is said out of love.*

This is why we don't like it:

In this country (USA!), a normal healthy baby is 99.9999% of the time going to be adopted. End of story. There are extensive lists of people who want to adopt babies and those people are sometimes waiting on those lists for years before they have the opportunity to bless their home with a child.

We don't want to be called "heroes." And we don't mean that in a modest way. We want to be called "mom" or "dad" and we are not willing to accept anything less.

"Hero" is less to us. "Hero" is something different. We are not saving a child. If anything, a child is saving us.

Not a hero. Not being modest. Just being honest.

*And again here is the caveat - not all people pursuing adoption fit into this category.*

Rant complete. Resume list. No more rants allowed.

So there you have it - 5 of the...um... 10 things... from Adoption 101. Plus a bonus rant. Yes - we will call it a "bonus."

By the way we have officially raised over $10,000 for our fundraiser (checks included, which do not show up on the crowdfunding site). Five Thousand Dollars more to go to meet our July 25th goal! WOO! https://www.purecharity.com/garcias-adoptYAY! PANDA!

Exceeding Unset Goals and Praying to Meet Set Goals

A little over two months ago, on Memorial Day weekend, we made our Next Chapter Facebook event, posted a blog post featuring the KoolAid mascot and our feelings, and unveiled the Operation Adoption fundraiser. 

Since then we have been overwhelmed by the stories, love, and generosity of friends, family, acquaintances, and even friends of acquaintances whom we have never met. We have raised over $9,000. And we also randomly accidentally have had over 1,000 views of our blog. Let the KoolAid man's statement stand:

Cue slightly extended status update:

This weekend, on July 11th, we have our first adoption class at The Cradle, the first of many classes and tests and such that are part of the Homestudy process (a process we have posted more about here). At this point the payments begin to be due.

In 3 weeks we have our Next Chapter Bash, by the end of which we hope to have raised a whole other $6,000 to meet our $15,000 goal. A lofty challenge, but we do have faith and hope that it will happen!

We spent our 4th of July weekend 1) working on getting the house and details ready for the Next Chapter Bash 2) laughing as our dog Nigel ran around barking his head off at the fireworks and 3) exercising great restraint to not overly comfort our other dog Sweets as he tucked himself into corners in respose to those same fireworks.

And I couldn't help but wonder what our next 4th of July might be like.

And whether there will be a little one we are trying to get to sleep through the sound of fireworks and barking dogs. Wouldn't it be an amazing blessing to be put through such an obnoxious experience?

Stalking for Baby

Warning: This blog post will include an immediate action item for its readers.

We've done Facebook, email, blog, crowdfunding, and now...

MAIL!

Guess what folder my most recent "Address.doc" was in my computer?

Guess.

Hint:

It was in the "wedding planning" folder. 

So that means I haven't sent letters out for some 5 years, a testament to my annual attempt (aka failure) to send out a Christmas card. It is also a testament to my part in Generation-EndofUPS.

Want to know how you can help us bring a baby home through adoption AND help save the United States Postal Service?:

(uh oh, she's going to ask you to do something...)

Help us share our story! 

options include...

Level 3 Sharing Ninja: Mail

Do you know anyone who might be interested in receiving a letter about how to help a baby be adopted? Message me to arrange some sort of letter mailing scenario (ie. I send the letter to them, I send you the letter to give to them, I email you the pdf to print and hand out...etc.) FB message me or let me know in the comments below to arrange.

Level 2 Sharing Ninja: Email

If you prefer the technology types of sharing - once again: FB message me or comment below for the email text we have been sending out.

OR

Level 1 Sharing Ninja: Share a link:

Fundraising Page

The Garcia Family Wee E-Book

July 25th Next Chapter Bash (Chicago Area, IL)

August 15th, Fundraiser (Burton, MI)

Please just take a quick moment now to help us out!

So Close/So Thankful

We are ALMOST at the 50% mark of our fundraising (=$7,500). Could you help us get the rest of the way there today? We are just so close!!!

SO CLOSE!!!!! 

It feels like all those pictures above...except for maybe the one in the middle.

And thank you, THANK YOU to our 56+ backers who have helped us get this far. And here they are, sans last names for some balance between appreciation and privacy:

Nicole

David

Derek

Kathryn

James

Cecelia

Jim

Leslie

Christian

Valentino

Yolanda

Robin

Mike

Salvador

Nino

Carmel

James

Becky

Vickie

Rebecca

Paul

Bret

Lila

Daniel

Craig

Katie

Maura

Ed

Claire

Mark

Kevin

Jorda

Myrna

Janice

Chris

Stephanie

Elisabeth

Wahied

Geneva

David

Patrick

Nathaniel

Amy

Sue

Shannon

Brandon

Robin

Alyssa

Cathryn

Jared

Bethany

Pete

Edward

Bernie

Gina

And then here come the additional thanks for other types of support...

THANK YOU to everyone who has shared our Facebook posts, emails, and blog - we have had an outstanding number of shares and the blog shows we have had nearly 900 views. Crazy!

And thank you to my main editors:

Mom - for editing all the things.

Stephanie - for editing and helping finesse the wee e-book.

And, I can't even begin to thank Sue for all her help with planning this fundraiser and particularly with helping me to clarify my message.

It has taken a lot of time and encouragement for us to work up the nerve to publicize our request for money to fund this adoption - and Sue has helped me to be more clear about exactly what we need, which is really awkward to say, but, it really is, just, we need money. If you ever find one of my messages too wishy washy and unclear, blame me; if you ever find one of my messages too forward - blame Sue. Sue, you are the best. Did I mention: thank you?!

And - of course - thank you to my aunts Rhonda and Monica and Grandma Marlene and everyone helping them to put on the MI fundraiser.

I am sure I have forgotten 50 or more specific people that should also be thanked in this post... please forgive me!

And then, consider us and HOW CLOSE WE ARE to 50% and how the panda below inspires you to help us get over the metaphorical rail!

Would you Be Part of the Story?

Have you seen our wee e-book yet? It is less than 200 words long (the equivalent of less than 1/2 a page) so it is a quick read. Very wee. Very shareable (hint, hint).

I created it a few weeks ago, shared it around social media, and then forgot to post it on the blog.

So let's just pretend it is new. Here we go:

ANNOUNCING THE GARCIA FAMILY WEE E-BOOK!!!!!

How to "be part of the story" (aka support the adoption of a child into our family):

1. Donate.
2. Celebrate: In Illinois or in Michigan.

Thank you so much for considering being part of our story!